Photo: Mojo Hand · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Spotsylvania Courthouse’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 75% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spotsylvania Courthouse gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns, #160 of 253 in Virginia. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Spotsylvania Courthouse faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Spotsylvania Courthouse’s grade
River and rain flooding is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Spotsylvania Courthouse, and Spotsylvania Courthouse’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 7% (higher than 67% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ #160 of 253 in Virginia; lower expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Spotsylvania Courthouse’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Virginia town has lower expected damage than 81% of U.S. towns; within the state, Spotsylvania Courthouse has more expected damage per building than 63% of Virginia towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.0M a year in losses across Spotsylvania Courthouse: $797K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Spotsylvania Courthouse flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Spotsylvania Courthouse. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Spotsylvania Courthouse isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Spotsylvania County.The storms Spotsylvania Courthouse remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Spotsylvania County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Spotsylvania Courthouse itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Spotsylvania County has had 16 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Get ready for what Spotsylvania Courthouse faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Spotsylvania Courthouse
Is Spotsylvania Courthouse at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Spotsylvania Courthouse has lower expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #160 of 253 in Virginia. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (80%) and earthquakes (7%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Spotsylvania Courthouse in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Spotsylvania County, 0.8% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Spotsylvania Courthouse?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Spotsylvania Courthouse’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Spotsylvania Courthouse at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Spotsylvania Courthouse’s rate for it is lower than 55% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Spotsylvania Courthouse.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Spotsylvania Courthouse’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.